One of Eagle Lab’s Partners, KM Tools, reflects on Railtex/Infrarail as the dust settles on a busy week of meeting customers, colleagues and creating brand new connections.
KM Tools engaged with bustling crowds coming through the gates of the exhibition – the first major event for rail of its kind following the COVID-19 lockdown. To respond to the hiatus caused by the pandemic, organisers had brought together Railtex and Infrarail into one major date for 2021’s calendar.
KM Tools is a key player in the industry when it comes to assisting businesses who manufacture rail equipment and rolling stock. They create jigs and machinery which allow customers to carry out highly complex operations.
At the exhibition, they talked to businesses about how they can not only provide a range of equipment which is ready to go, but which can have custom one-off designs and bespoke software – so everything can look, feel and be calibrated to the company which commissioned it.
Visitors were also interested to hear how they were able to replicate any existing machines which are coming to the end of their life cycle.
Looking back, Jason Donoghue, KMT Head of Marketing said Railtex/Infrarail had been a success: “To begin with, there was definitely a sense of excitement in the air. Numbers were higher than I think many anticipated, which of course now things are much safer is a very good thing.”
Railtex/Infrarail, however, wasn’t just a numbers game. Whereas thousands came through the door, it is the quality of connections which makes attending events like this truly worth it.
The benchmark was high for many businesses sharing their expertise across the three days, and it’s no help if the visitors are either not placed to develop new business or are simply there for a day out. For KM Tools, that meant meeting businesses as serious about making a mark in rail as their existing roster of customers, which includes the likes of Hitachi and Bombardier.
“I think it’s definitely fair to say footfall was matched by the depth of connections we were making,” Jason said. “This was all about getting back to the business of rail. Everyone was there to move the industry forward, and there was a real sense that there is now a momentum behind making the industry stronger, bigger and better than before.
“If this is the kind of start that we can make as an industry so soon after the pandemic restrictions have lifted, rail has some incredible times to come.”
Photo credit: Dean Gellatly/RBD
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